Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Damage Associated with Seeding Surgery for Pearl Culture in the Winged Pearl Oyster .

To evaluate the antioxidant activity and oxidative damage by relaxing, wounding, and seeding of a saibo of different origin on hosts, five oyster treatments were included: (1) relaxed (REL) but neither wounded nor seeded; (2) relaxed and wounded (WOU) but not seeded; (3) relaxed, wounded, and seeded with an allograft (ALL); (4) relaxed, wounded, and seeded with an autograft (AUT); and (5) unrelaxed, unwounded, and unseeded as control (CTR). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and thiobarbituric acid (TBARS) activity were quantified between 3 and 24 h post-seeding. Compared to the CTR oysters, which did not suffer oxidative stress, SOD activity significantly decreased in the gonad and digestive gland in all treatments and decreased in mantle tissue in AUT oysters; this indicates that the entire process of preparing oysters for pearl culture (relaxing, wounding, and seeding) generates oxidative stress in the host.

Monoamine fluctuations during the reproductive cycle of the Pacific lion's paw scallop Nodipecten subnodosus.

The Pacific lion's paw scallop Nodipecten subnodosus has been one of the most important commercial species of mollusc in the Baja California peninsula in Mexico since 1990. This species is a functional hermaphrodite with tropical and sub-tropical distributions and experiences wide annual temperature oscillations influencing its physiological functions. We determined norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), and serotonin (5-HT) concentrations in different organs (female and male gonads, digestive gland, adductor muscle, gill, mantle, and foot) of N.

Effects of cryoprotectant agents and freezing protocol on motility of black-lip pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera L.) spermatozoa.

Gamete cryopreservation techniques have been applied to several bivalve mollusc species. However, research activity in this area has primarily focused on cryopreserving gametes from edible oysters (Ostreiidae). Few studies have examined the effect of cryoprotectants and freezing protocols in the preservation of spermatozoa from cultured pearl oysters (Pteriidae).

Wound healing after excision of mantle tissue from the Akoya pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata.

Pearl oysters are usually sacrificed to donate mantle tissue for pearl production. However, if oysters are anaesthetized, they are able to survive mantle excision and regenerate this tissue. Mantle excision causes a large wound and severs the pallial artery that necessitates rapid wound repair to avoid death by bleeding.